For many students, academic stress can be overwhelming. Research conducted in 2020 found that almost 43% of students said their stress levels had increased; granted, this was owing in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, but student stress levels have maintained even outside of that time period. When considering the causes of such high stress levels among high school students, there are numerous aspects to examine. Given that adolescence is already a stressful time, it’s easy to see how academia could add to that.

Stress in teenagers can become incredibly debilitating as it usually leads to less ability to complete tasks which only causes more stress, leading to a constant cycle.

The realm of academics is becoming increasingly hard and difficult to get into. Many high school students have a lot of anxiety, ultimately valid, about how they are going to get to college or pursue higher education if it’s in the books for them. Unfortunately, college acceptance rates keep dropping and many people find themselves being disappointed and scared of what might happen when it comes their time to graduate.

If stress ever gets to the point where you feel like you can’t handle it, then it is always important to attempt to reach out to someone you trust to get help. That could be any trustworthy adult in your life, a close friend, a teacher or your counselor. Fortunately, there are several ways to deal with stress. They might not always work or be effective enough, but it never hurts to try when going through tough experiences. Some of these involve trying to get as much sleep as possible, practicing better time management skills, journaling or recording your overwhelming thoughts, or spending more time doing your hobbies.

Ultimately stress is a common and sometimes good aspect of life but when it gets in your way of enjoying life, especially as a student, it is always important to know that things will get better.